Getting my DS!!

I am pre-op....my date is this Friday....but I have spent several years on this board. I AM BEGGING YOU TO RECONSIDER YOUR CHOICE IN SURGEONS!!! I am positive that the seasoned vets will chime in here soon. I have watched several people who sought revisions post on this board. Those who chose accomplished surgeons versed in revisions have had good luck (from what I've seen) One of our dear friends traveled to Brazil for a revision from a RNY, and she spent two months in the hospital there, part of the time in a coma. The surgeon she chose was IMO one of the finest in the world. She credits him with saving her life. Had she chosen someone who was not ABSOLUTELY SKILLED in revisions, she would have orphaned her little girl.

There are other stories, all just haunting, in regards to the choice that you are making for a revision surgeon. I am absolutely convinced that you have made the right choice to go with the DS. I am absolutely frightened to think that you might go with someone who isn't proficient in revisions.

You seem like such a neat person. As I read about your bond with your dad I just couldn't help but plead with you to find the right doctor for this. Your dad ad so many others would be devastated to live in this world without you.....and that is what you are risking when you look for someone other than the most experienced revision surgeon available.

I hope I haven't been too vocal. I know I'm not a vet, but I just couldn't help but reach out and beg you to reconsider.

Please take a look at Diana Cox's thread titled "Holy Crap". Which she posted on 7/31.

DANGER WILL ROBINSON!!! There is ONE AND ONLY ONE valid DS surgeon in Mexico and that is Dr. Gilberto Ungson. Please run FAST AND FAR from anyone else. Don't short yourself on this score just to save a few bucks.

OK, I now realize you may have been being a bit coy with me in our PM exchange.  I specifically stated that I assumed the other MX surgeon you were considering was Ungson, but you deflected and did not address that assertion.

I am going to say this once.  You seem like a smart, lovely person, fortunate to have a very supportive father who wants you to get surgery and to get healthy and happy.  I cannot believe you are ignoring the advice you have received here, from multiple people.  You have been pointed to the several poor outcomes with various Mexican surgeons who did not not have adequate DS expertise or who have had DOCUMENTED horrible outcomes (not an indictment of MX surgeons in general, but we KNOW who does the DS and who doesn't, and who has had patients with terrible treatment), and yet you are seriously considering using someone NONE of us have heard of as being a DS surgeon at all.  Unbelievable.

There is only one Mexican surgeon who has the documented skills to do a virgin DS, and that is Ungson.  But you are not even a virgin DS - you are a revision.  There are only a few surgeons in the US with the requisite skills to do a revision, and only one in Mexico, and again, THAT IS UNGSON.

If after all these EXPLICIT warnings not to pursue the course you are on, you go to Lopez or any Mexican surgeon other than Ungson, I wash my hands of you.  I am deadly serious.  If you think saving a couple thousand bucks is worh risking your life with a surgeon who is unqualified to rearrange your guts, you are out of your ******g mind.  And by the way, nobody here gets a kickback from Ungson - you are getting the benefit of YEARS of volunteer experience - don't blow it off.

PLEASE HAVE YOUR FATHER READ THIS THREAD BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING!!

Diana,

I didn't mean to come off as coy or sly, I'm not that type of person, and I'm sorry if you took it that way because I really appreciate all the help you've offered.

I know a lot of people have said that Dr. Ungson was a great doctor but I didn't realize that he was the absolute only doctor to go to.  My research didn't show up anything wrong with the doctor I was considering and I made the mistake of assuming that no news was good news.

I truely appreciate everyone's concern and I'm going to contact Dr. Ungson's office now.

PS:  I'm also hoping to hear from the other doctor with the hopes of not having to go outside the US though going to Mexico for surgery is not a huge issue to me as I had my lapband done in Mexico.

You are all TRUELY a blessing,

Dawn

Dawn, I'm so happy and relieved to see your response to Diana. I hope by now you realize that we're not trying to make your life difficult, it's just that we've seen the horror stories from people who traveled out of country, having been sold a lovely sounding story by "coordinators", only to find themselves in miserable cir****tances, or have their lives endangered (Larissa was lucky to survive, and required MONTHS of care and multiple procedures and further surgery back in the States) or people thinking they were going to get a DS and winding up with something else.
     It's so easy to claim that a surgeon does a given operation...when he really doesn't. Once you get there, and esp once you have paid up front, it's very difficult to back out. And if something does go wrong, you just don't have the protections you would have here.
     So it's crucial to be certain of your surgeon's skill set, and that he and his hospital are on the up and up. We've heard nothing but good things about Dr. Ungson, over and over, for several years. We've had nurses who have gone to him, or patients who were accompanied by family members who are nurses, verify that the hospital where he operates is clean and modern and that the care was good. This is NOT the case in all places, unfortunately.
     I feel better knowing that you are contacting his office, and so will you.

Larra

And Larissa is in a state that won't take away her home and paycheck for medical bills.  Not everyone is.

Dawn,

I am so releived to read this post.  We (as a forum family) recently wathced our friend Larissa almost die from complications from a Mexican DS.  We had made the same efforts to convince her to use Ungson as we have with you but she didn't listen.

She would be the first to tell you that she was deadly wrong and almost died.  Now she has NO stomach and lost her pyloric valve and is just thankful to be alive.

It is such a relief that you appear to be listening.

I remember when I first started looking into WLS.  I could not for the life of me understand why there was not a single surgeon in all of western North Carolina who could do the DS.  Then I found out there was only ONE surgeon in ALL of North Carolina who could do the DS.  And he wasn't even at Duke or Carolina where all the BIG FANCY medical centers are located.

It was a shock to realize that the surgery I wanted was so complicated that the number of surgeons who can actually do it was so small. 

But now I understand so I try to help new people understand as well.

And a REVISION is even MORE complicated than my virgin DS.

Good for you for having an open mind.  You are a smart girl and will do great.

I'm going to try to find Larissa to come talk to you too.

~Becky

Hi, Dawn. Please search that soul of yours at least once more. AFTER you read Larissa's story on her blog:

http://www.obesityhelp.com/member/secretagentwoman/

She's been incredibly candid about her awful journey after she used a non-vetted "DS surgeon" in Mexico. If you go to Mexico, please consider Dr. Ungson. He has a stellar reputation. If you can stay in the US, try Rabkin or Keshishian--both are excellent at revisions, which are notoriously more difficult.

Best of luck! 

Nicolle

I'm trying to reach Dr. U but the website they have listed on here is invalid as is the phone number.  When I do a google search I get a couple different numbers but they are for surgical groups which say he's a part of but nobody answers the phone so I've left messages.

Does anyone have a good contact number or website for him?  Also, does anyone know if he does surgery in TJ?

Thanks so much for all your help!

Dawn